VISITING THE MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM IN BATH

We have had the Maine Maritime Museum on our list of things to see and do all summer. We made the 60-minute drive to Bath and spent the day visiting both the museum and the out-buildings which are part of the museum.

The Grand Banks Schooner Museum, Sherman Zwicher, was on display behind the museum in the Kennebec River. The Zwicher was a wooden fishing schooner, built in 1942 in Nova Scotia, hence the Canadian flag. Even though she was rigged for sail, her primary means of propulsion was by a large 320 HP marine diesel engine.

The method of fishing was to use the dories to spread 1 1/2 mile long fishing lines with baited hooks at 9 feet intervals, called a trawl. Crew on the ship would lower and raise the dories by hand three or four times a day. Paul is standing next to one of the dories on the deck.

In the out-building devoted to the history of lobstering, we were amused by reading a list of superstitions commonplace among lobstermen in the past, as follows:

     1.  Do not have any item or article of clothing on the boat colored black.
     2.  Do not turn a hatch cover, bait barrel, or basked on the boat upside down.
     3.  Do not say the word "pig" on a boat.
     4.  Do not paint your boat blue.

Odd taboos for the lobstermen, but superstitions usually are.  We were not told the meanings behind any of the superstitions - just a bit of historical trivia to enjoy.

Here is one of the older lobster boats on display. Notice, there is no power winch to haul up the lobster traps. The old wooden lobster trap is an item of the past. Most traps now are made of either heavy duty plastic wire or metal wire.

We took a trolley ride to the nearby Bath Iron Works, where many Navy ships have been made and continue to be made. Cameras and cell phones were not allowed aboard the trolley for security reasons. We were told about a new class of Navy stealth destroyer that is being built there. The first ship in this class, The Zumwalt, is scheduled to be christened on October 19, 2013. When we left the shipyard, we were given an artist rendering of the Zumwalt. 

The photo below was taken in January and appeared in a newspaper article about the October 19 christening. All the parts to the ship are made nearby and shipped on tractor trailers and welded together at Bath Iron Works. If you look closely at the photo, you can see the lengths with weld marks on the side of the hull, the reddish brown part. 



We were glad we spent a interesting day learning about ships and shipbuilding in the past. Having the opportunity to view the newest technology of today was an added plus.